Whereas the first entry in this series, Trollslayer, suffered from a flat plot, this one does not. It takes place in a single location and each story adds to the next to create a cohesive narrative. The main characters are still entertaining, as is the supporting cast. It also benefits from several characters appearing in multiple of the chapters—again, unlike the first entry.

A great example of heroic fantasy. ( )

Straightforward and in-your-face Warhammer fantasy action dominates this tale as Gotrek and Felix find themselves down on their luck as sewer guards and uncover a plot by the rat like skaven to take over the city of Nuln, a major hub in the Empire. Battle after battle ensues as the dwarf Gotrek continues his search for a glorious death and Felix is the somewhat reluctant follower who fights alongside him continuing his life debt of standing beside the dwarf. This volume is powered by a well-defined antagonist, the leader of the "rat-men", and the continuing conflict between the characters of good and evil for control of the city. This book has also given me ideas to investigate in the world of Warhammer for future reading (separate from Warhammer 40K). ( )

he heroes from the series find themselves in Nuln serving in lowly positions. Their ill-fated luck lands in the middle of a Skaven plot to take over the city. The pair become willing but unwitting pawns of the Grey-seer Thanquol how attempts to use the pair to ward off the Skaven’s vicious infighting using the heroes. The Skaven’s plan falls apart one piece at a time due to the lack of cooperation and Felix and Gortek’s timely interventions. This book felt more like a novel, much more so than the first book but suffered from too much repeated action, information and characterization. The book is more of a primer on the Skaven and their ways, clans, thinking etc. than anything else. The writing got tired by the last portion of the text and the limited, repetitive vocabulary made even the action scenes slow down. ( )

Skavenslayer is definitely an improvement on the fragmented Trollslayer. The structure is similar, with each chapter controlling the plot in a very linear fashion where each chapter sets up a villain to be dispatched, it's scenario by numbers akin to a roleplaying game. The characters are still rather two-dimensional and the action is to the point and little more. Skavenslayer does has have a stronger plot that draws the chapters together, rather than a disparate collection of stories which made up Trollslayer. This ensure the pages keep turning and ultimately Skavenslayer is an easy going fantasy romp - it's not clever or complicated and should appeal to a wider audience than the more lengthy fiction in this genre. ( )

This is the second book of the Gotrek and Felix series and man is it fun. In this novel Gotrek and Felix find themselves in the city of Nuln, a major city in the empire, but it is rotten at it's core. A spy master for the government has made a deal with the Skaven, a vicious race of rat men, who are hell bent on destroying human kind. Only Gotrek, the mighty dwarf slayer, and Felix, his sworn companion, can thwart their evil schemes. This is a complex novel with interesting, well developed characters, and for the first time we can finally see into the mind of the chaos worshiping rat men of the deep. ( )